Here it is! All of the Padres bobbleheads that I own, in one single post! 57 168 (!!!!) different Padres, Chihuahuas, Beavers, Stars, BayBears, Quakes, Storm, Wizards, TinCaps, Emeralds, managers, announcers, mascots, dreamboats, skaters and sleepy voiced ex-owners. I’ve written in depth about many of these already, so if you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments below and I’ll fill you in on them.

Some Additional Notes:

-The Tony Gwynn set of 5 was not a Padres affiliated giveaway and was reportedly a set that Alicia Gwynn teamed up with another company on. I can’t recall the year, or if they were given away somewhere or sold, but I’m about 99.9% sure that it was in 2001.

-I found out that the set that features Trevor Hoffman, Ryan Klesko, Mark Kotsay and Phil Nevin was indeed given away at a game on August 4th, 2002, but was for kids only. You could also go to Carl’s Jr. every Saturday for 5 consecutive weeks and purchase a combo meal to buy a different bobblehead for $4.99 though, which is what I did. My cholesterol levels have never been the same.

-The Jerry Coleman bobblehead was a San Diego National Bank item from 2001 and was given away to “special friends of the bank” only.

-I’ve never seen the 1980’s Twin Enterprises bobblehead before, but I scooped it up. It’s in the 1985-1990 uniform, however I have never seen any of these holding a baseball. Perhaps it was a custom one?

If you have any bobbleheads that aren’t listed here, that you’d like to contribute to my sickness the cause, then shoot me an e-mail.

1998? That long ago? Have the Padres really sucked that bad? Well, yes and no. Part of the problem with having the fans vote is players that get national attention tend to get the most votes. And the Padres have rarely gotten national attention since 1998. Not for anything positive, that is.

Not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing, just that’s the way it is.

So, what happened between 1998 and today? How many players have been All-Stars since?

Yonder Alonso may not look or hit like a big-league first baseman, but that’s what the cigar-shaped kid from Havana is. Most nights, despite possessing the power of a hotel hair dryer, the man who runs with a Steinway on his back can be found in the heart of Bud Black’s lineup.

And oh, what a piano! One year, he knocked 150 hits and scored 47 runs. That’s not a record, but it puts him in the company of Bengie Molina, Terry Kennedy, and a handful of guys nobody ever called “Scooter” or “Wheels.”

Of course, Molina and Kennedy hit one out of the yard once in a while. Alonso doesn’t do that. He’s big and strong, but lets teammates share the burden. He’s no glory hog. You won’t see him launching baseballs into the San Diego night like Adrián González used to do, or Ryan Klesko before him.

The other day, I was thinking about my favorite Padre memories. They often have to do with the absurd, things we really have no right holding on to, let alone carrying as fond memories. When the Padres left Channel 4 San Diego, they not only left behind a completely substandard presentation…they left behind the great (and by great, I mean AWFUL. So awful, they’re great.) local ads. Not that FSSD doesn’t air local commercials, they just don’t make you feel like you’re watching KUSI or XETV Channel Six-a-rooni circa 1988. Some of the ads featured Padres players, many did not. What they all did was find a place in our hearts.